In Ukraine, about a dozen parliamentary deputies from the party of jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko interrupted a speech by President Viktor Yanukovych, unfurling a banner with Tymoshenko's portrait and chanting for her to be freed from prison.

The deputies continued chanting for a full 30 minutes while Yanukovych continued speaking at the opening of the Verkhovna Rada's new legislative session.

Tymoshenko, 51, was jailed in October on abuse-of-office charges that her followers say were politically motivated.

She is reportedly in poor health and has asked for an independent medical examination.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussed Tymoshenko's case with Yanukovych on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich on February 4.